The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-25
PRANK FRAYNE AND HIS BEASTS.
The Actor Tells of His Experience with
Bob Ingersoll," the Lion
Philadelphia News

The Actor Tells Of His Experience with
Bob Ingersoll," the Lion.
Philadelphia News
Frank l. Frayne tells a good story
about his Jersey farm and his ferocious
hon.
II keep my lion and hyenas on the
farm and its very funny" he said. while
they are there the other farmers keep
their doors and windows locked. and
never go out unless armed with shot
gun
MY lion is very ferocious and requires
\ q Il care. / call him Col. Ingersoll
because the Colonel once told me that
was committing a sin against nature in
keeping that beautiful animal Gagged up
| when he ought to be in Jungle.
by the way. that lion has a history.
He has killed two men and he carried a
bullet in his nose beneath his right eye,
which he received i'm Cuba. He belong
| ell to Orrin Bros circus and they We're
! showing in Cuba. A Cuban who was
attending him tied the lion up to the
| grating and went inside the cage. The
| powerful animal broke loose and sprang
on the man and killed him. They had a
dreadful time to get the body out of the
cage.
| ..They put "A hump on the animals
/ back pounding him with iron bars. but
the dead man shot the lion in the nose
with a ball from a ~ caliber revolver.
That stunned him, and they got the
body out and buried it. The lion caused
the death of his second victim in Mexico.
The animal was with Sells Bros circus.
A man got too near the cage and the lion
seized his arm and actually pulled it out
of the shoulder socket. The victim died
in few minutes.
1 .sTha most thrltIinor that
had with him was at the beginning OF
this season. We were billed to play in
Cumberland, Md. The theater was in
the second stO.y, and we got a crowd OF
negroes to carry the cage upstairs and
put it on the stage. They did so. and
then nearly every negro in the town
came i'm to see the lion. The cage was
out of repair, and L had a blacksmith
fixing it. He took off a lot of the out
side bars and took them to his shop
when Frank, one of my young men
went to let the lion into the outside Gags
for water, not knowing that some of the
bars were off. The consequence was tina
the lion walked out on to the stage AND
! started down towards the negroes, There
was never hall cleared as quickly a
that one was. In an instant not a Negro
was seen. Frank mounted to the tol
of the cage, and from there he climbe,
up into the flies. Then the lion had full
possession of the theater. and was trot
ting around among the seats.
Il ran up to the hall and called for
lot of negroes in the street to come an,
help me cage the beast, but it was no 90
A cart load of gold wouldn't have per
stiaded them. l went into the hall am
mounted the stage. Frank was still M
in the flies and when / told him to com
down and get me the lions meat he sai'
he preferred to stay where he was.
got the meat myself and the lion watch
ed every movement L made. l opene'
: the cage door and then stood outside am
waved the meat. In a moment tn,
beast came for me with n roar. Ii wa
. life or death. but / had To take tn
. chances. As he bounded on the stage
rushed i'm the cage. He was right afte
me and as | threw the meat into one COZ
: ner of the cage, it diverted his attention
and he bounded on it. Before he coul'
turn on me / slipped out and shut tn
door and had him safely Gagged. The
= Frank came down out of the flies and j
! less than five minutes the hall wa
4 again filled with anxious negroes.
. "DO my hyenas ever fight? Well the
0 would, and savagely, too, if they got t.
. gether, because they are very jealous {
5 each other but we take care to keep theI
V apart. Once they got into the same Gag
a and began a deadly combat, hut | ende
n the fight by turning a hose ON them. On
: of them is striped and the other is spo
Il ted, and you know they ale born en'
o mics. The spotted one is tame and is
r. the species known as the laughing II,
n ena. The striped hyena is untamab
o and very ferocious. My two bears al
r simply pets. and wouldn't hurt anythin;
l. My three dogs are very jealous, as muc
Is so as opera singers and Italian dancer
3 They are continually trying to Guido on
II another. 1 am fond of animals and ha,
> gre; collection of them on my farm.